Baba Ramdev bats for organic food in cancer belt Malwa

Bathinda, November 3

Adopting the first-ever village in Punjab, yoga guru Baba Ramdev today launched a drug de-addiction campaign at Laleana in Talwandi Sabo block of Bathinda. He also encouraged the villagers to take to organic food.

While interacting with the yoga guru, the villagers apprised him of the rampant problem of drug addiction in the village and how the menace was taking a toll on the residents’ health.

Exhorting the youth to take an oath of quitting drugs, Ramdev distributed boxes of ‘chyawanprash’ (health product) to the addicts. He has also decided to adopt nearby Jajjal village.

Talking about the unusually high incidence of cancer cases in Malwa belt, Baba Ramdev said pesticides alone could not be blamed for the catastrophe. He said the need of the hour was to give up chemical-intensive farming and adopt organic farming.

Encouraging the farmers to grow food without using chemicals, he said the practice would also help replenish soil nutrients and, thereby, boost agricultural economy.

Demanding setting up of Rashtriya Kisan Aayog (National Farmers’ Commission), he said at present the cost of input in agriculture was more than the output. “A small farmer earns little more than Rs 3,400 a month, which is even less than what house maids earn. Agriculture is no more a profit-making venture,” he added. 

'UPA shying away from Lokpal Bill' Baba Ramdev has alleged that the Congress-led UPA government was shying away from introducing the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament's winter session. He alleged the UPA government had also been giving fake assurances on recovering Indian money stashed in Swiss banks. "Nothing is being done on both the fronts and fake assurances are being given to Anna," he said.

'Petro prices being hiked arbitrarily’ The yoga guru alleged that the Union Government was arbitrarily time and again hiking the prices of petroleum products. He said, "While crude oil costs Rs 30 a litre, its processing and transporting cost is Rs 5-6 and Rs 4 is the profit earned for every litre. Petrol should not cost more than Rs 40 a liter…all being done to favour oil giants."